Finnish pagan metal outfit Moonsorrow and German power metal group Freedom Call have been confrmed as the latest two bands to take part in this years edition of the British metal festival, Bloodstock Open Air, which will take place at Catton Hall in Walton On Trent, Derbyshire from August 10th-12th.

Speaking on the confirmation, Moonsorrow stated: "We are truly excited to take part in Bloodstock Festival 2012. It's been way too long since we played on the British soil in 2008 and we know that lately there has been a huge demand for Moonsorrow to play in the UK. So, all our loyal fans in the UK, we want to see a massive crowd of insane berserks during our set. Don't let us down because we promise we don't let you down, cheers!"

Freedom Call added: "The Bloodstock Festival is the pulsating heart of Heavy Metal...a great audience, which knows exactly to revel."

U.K. Gothic power metal band Pythia posted a new music video for the track "The Circle." The song appears on the band's sophomore release "The Serpent's Curse," which was released in February through Golden Axe Records.

The track listing for "The Serpent's Curse" is as follows:

1. Cry Of Our Nation2. Betray My Heart3. Kissing The Knife4. Just A Lie5. Dark Star6. Long Live The King7. The Circle8. My Perfect Enemy9. Heartless10. Our Forgotten Land

With a plethora of metal talent already on offer - including Alice Cooper, Behemoth, Dimmu Borgir, Testament, Hatebreed and loads more - Bloodstock Open Air has another addition to it’s main stage, in the form of New Orleans sludge-monsters Crowbar. The organizers of the festival commented:

"The epitome of heavy, Kirk Windstein and co have been showing the world that speed isn’t everything since their debut 'Obedience Thru Suffering' stunned the metal world in 1991 with its downtuned, slow-paced yet punishingly heavy sound. With nine studio albums under their very large belts, Crowbar have mastered the art of the riff, continually delivering irresistible sludgey metal via a sound uniquely their own. With mammoth sludgey slabs such as 'I Despise,' 'All I Had (I Gave),' 'Time He’s Nothing,' 'Like Broken Glass,' 'Nothing' and many more, the Ronnie James Dio Stage will be put to the test at Crowbar’s only UK festival of 2012.

"Over on the Sophie stage, additions come in the form of homegrown extreme symphonic metallers and Metal 2 The Masses winners Saturnian, fellow countrymen and Melo-death thrashers Bloodshot Dawn, as well as Finnish melodic death metallers Re-Armed."

Pull out the rum and the plastic guitars, because Scottish pirate metallers Alestorm are finally coming to the Rock Band Network with the track "Shipwrecked." If pirates aren't your thing, there's new tracks now available from Devin Townsend, Halcyon Way, Morbid Angel and more.

Pythia has issued the following recap of the past year and update about the band's activity:

"Hello friends and fellow Pythians! First of all a very happy New Year to you all, and here's hoping you have recovered from your individual Feasts of Fools that no doubt has left you reeling….

"This year is set to be a belter, so I urge, nay, beg you to keep your eyes on the band's information portals, because news will be coming in thick and fast, almost so quick that we us information officers at PYTHIA HQ are working flat out just now preparing for February's long awaited release of the new album… More on that shortly.

"To aid the minions at PYTHIA's Ministry of Information, the band has commissioned an app for iPhone which is available for download from the App Store. All news, dates, merch store as well as access to our Twitter and Face Book feeds and pretty much access to PYTHIA's digital realm in one place. Bang on.

"We are also pleased and proud to announce that the track 'Just A Lie' will soon be available to download on the Rock Band. The developers are completing BETA testing and we all agree that this should be a challenge to the most nimble fingered widdlers and talented vocalists…. If you think the game is hard, pity the poor chaps in the band who have to do this nightly! Keep an eye on www.rockband.com/international for official release on Thursday.

"The video for 'Betray My Heart' has gone great guns on YouTube thanks to you all, seeing a great response as soon as it went live. The single was very well received which pleased us greatly, as we know that you will all love the album seeing as you enjoyed the 'appetizer' so much!

"So we are finally near the big day… There are lots of exciting plans being batted around the PYTHIA chambers at the moment; we will let you know more as these ideas get a little more set in stone… For now our lips are sealed. On that note, we will leave you all to the rest of your recovery. Look forward to seeing you at one of our shows real soon."

Female-fronted act Pythia has posted a video clip online for the new single "Betray my Heart," which can be viewed below. The band also commented:

"We are delighted to bring to you our video for the new single 'Betray My Heart.' We hope you like it! The single is available in CD and 7" vinyl formats from the Pythia shop at this location and also downloadable from Monday 19th December from Itunes."

Pythia's upcoming new album "The Serpent's Curse" is currently set to drop on February 27th, 2012. More...

Pythia has checked in with the following update about the release of a new album and single:

"Pythia is delighted to announce that a pre sale is now open for both the new 'Betray my Heart' single (both CD and 7" coloured vinyl versions) which will be released on 19th December 2011 and the new album 'The Serpent's Curse' which will arrive on February 27th 2012. The album is available as a CD & DVD digipack and also a box set containing the same, plus exclusive T-shirt design, art print and the 7" Betray my Heart single all in a ribbon tied box!

"For information, a look at the artwork and to place your order check out the PYTHIA shop at the band's website via the link here.

"We hope you are all excited to hear the album and hope you'll learn the songs in plenty of time to sing along when we come to a town near you in 2012! Thanks for your support!"

Pythia has revealed the details of the band's second album "The Serpent's Curse," which will be released on February 27th, 2012 on Golden Axe via Genepool/Universal in the UK. Just in time for Yule Tide, Pythia will release an advance single, "Betray My Heart," on the 19th of December on an extremely limited edition colored vinyl 7", with a remixed version appearing on the B-side, and as a CD/digital download.

The band has also completed work on a video to accompany the single. Drummer Marc comments, "This video was all about capturing the energy and emotion of both the song itself, and the band's live shows. Pounding and aggressive, yet intimate and emotive, personal and introspective, but spewing forth a venomous assault."

The video was filmed at the majestic St. John's of Hackney at the end of summer; a fitting baptism by fire for new bassist Mark Harrington. Mark's first response on coming through the door was "Whew…. These guys are nuts, what have I let myself in for," but was followed by "It's a real honour to be providing the bottom-end rumble to such a sterling bunch of metal warriors! I'm really looking forward to the exciting things we have planned in the next few months..."

The band also commented about filming the video and releasing a new album: "During the making of 'The Serpent's Curse' we encountered the highs and lows of human experience. From the darkness of death to the wonder of birth as a band we faced these colossal events united. This album sprung from our endeavours to understand the circle of life, the mighty force of nature and our fight for survival."

Pythia has posted footage online of the band performing the track "No Compromise" at the 2010 edition of the Metal Female Voices Festival. You can check out the live clip below, or find more information on Pythia through the band's Facebook profile.

Pythia's new bass player Mark Harrington has issued the following blog post about joining the band:

"I can't really lay claim to ever having been the most rampant party animal at any point in my life, but even by my own modest standards, an 18th century church in the suburban surrounds of Hackney, North London, seemed far from the most appropriate of locations for an indulgent Saturday night. And yet indulgence and, one might argue, worship of a kind, were the two reasons I found myself at this unlikely venue on a cool, late summer evening. Vain self-indulgence of the kind one can only experience when posing and 'throwing-shapes' for a video camera and worship at the Altar of Heavy Metal for, notwithstanding a couple of prior rehearsals and informal meetings, this was to be my true induction into the ranks of the mighty Pythian army: a video shoot for the first single from Pythia's second album.

"My limited prior experience of music video shoots had led me to believe that this would be a baptism by fire (no pun intended). To say that these things can drag on is something of a gross understatement. Hours can drag into days. I had quietly conceded that the agreed 6pm start was nothing if incredibly optimistic and had visions of returning home and collapsing onto my bed with mid-morning sun streaming through the curtains, at least 12 hours of shooting later. Happily, my apprehensions proved unfounded. Despite an initial delay as we waited for the sun to finally set, leaving us with just artificial lighting to illuminate our setting, things moved along more smoothly and efficiently than anyone could have hoped for and a mere 4 hours later, our work here was done.

"This experience goes to highlight that which has impressed me most in my short time with the band – they get on and get things done. Anyone with experience of either working with or playing in a band will know that there is invariably (and unavoidably) a not-inconsiderable amount of, shall we say, dicking-around. The unpredictable and in many cases purposefully disorganized nature of the business demand it, in many cases. And yet, my Pythian co-conspirators set a fantastic example of how easy it is to get the job done professionally and efficiently and yet, still maintain a delightful illusion of the intoxicating chaos that lies at the core of that which keeps us all enthralled by the idea of rock music and heavy metal bands in particular. I left the church tired but content in the knowledge that I had made the right decision in accepting the bands offer to join them in their quest for musical glory. More...

"Back on Stage! Thanks to all who came out to see us at our three gigs last week and the brilliant bands we got to play with! It was fantastic to get back onstage after so long and we were thrilled with everyone's reaction to the 4 songs from the new album that were played, namely Cry of our Nation, Betray my Heart, Just a Lie and Heartless.

"We look forward to presenting these songs and the rest of our new album 'The Serpent's Curse' to you in the next few months!

"Over the weekend the Planet Mosh website conducted an interview with Emily Alice as well as reviewing one of the shows and we attach both links for your enjoyment. Thank you for your continued support!"

Pythia has posted the following statement online about splitting with bass player Andy Nixon-Corfield:

"We are saddened to inform you that bass player Andy Nixon-Corfield has left the troops of Pythia in order to pursue other musical interests! Good Luck Andy!

"In good news we are delighted to announce the recruitment of Mark Harrington. Mark is no stranger to female fronted metal as he is also a member of expert proggers To-Mera. Welcome Mark!

"Box set pre-orders: There is a slight delay in the shipping of the box sets due to unforeseen problems. We are looking at a mid September delivery and we would like to thank everyone for their patience. They will certainly be worth the wait.

"Live dates: Please note we have some new UK live dates for October 2011.

Pythia has issued the following announcement about the artwork for the band's upcoming "The Serpent's Curse" album:

"We are delighted that the cover artwork for our forthcoming album 'The Serpent's Curse' has been created for Pythia by world renowned artist Brian Froud. Brian is responsible for design work on major films such as: The Dark Crystal, Labyrinth, and Star Wars in conjunction with Jim Henson. He is also responsible for many best selling illustrated books and he is wildly recognized as the world's leading fantasy artist.

"We are also excited to announce that Rock Band Network will be featuring two new album tracks in the near future, at which point the new album artwork will also be available to be viewed.

In other recent Pythia news, the band announced a special edition box set is being released for the previous album "Beneath The Veiled Embrace." Details on the release are available by heading over to this location.

Pythia has issued the following announcement about releasing a limited edition box set version of the "Beneath the Veiled Embrace" album:

"Hi all, we have two very special items currently available to pre order in the Pythia shop. The first is a very special limited edition box set commemorating our first album 'Beneath the Veiled Embrace.' The items contained in this limited run of just 100 boxes, which is priced at £60 plus postage and packing, is as follows:

Pythia has issued the following update about releasing a new album and the band's upcoming activity:

"Hello! Here's wishing you all a happy Spring, as we have been blessed with some beautiful weather as well as wonderful news of late, more on that later. Although not out on the road since Hard Rock Hell in December, we have been extremely hard at work preparing for this year's onslaught on the international record markets, along with a little (much needed) R&R!

"In order to make sure we remained focused on the completion of our new album the band decided to put back the video shoot from March to late summer. We want to sincerely thank all who helped out in this part of the project, especially James and Matt/all the guys at EKHO for all the hard work already completed.

"We would also like to write a few words of support to the all the people at our Japanese label, Spinning, and to anyone affected by the recent events in the land of the rising sun. In good news over there though, the album is selling well, and has even been spotted on music stands next to some of our biggest idols and contemporaries. Let's see what album number 2 brings.

"As we touched on earlier, the new album is here! Finally, after all this time, a couple of leaked tracks, and much Facebook conjecture, the album is done!

"We can announce that the title is 'The Serpent's Curse', and is a definitely a movement on from 'Beneath the Veiled Embrace'. Ross describes it as our 'Empire Strikes Back'; a lot darker, but technically better!. Nuff said. The album is due for release in the autumn, and look out for a UK tour to support the launch. More news as details firm up..... More...

Gothic metal act Pythia has issued the following update about completing work on the band's upcoming album:

"Hi folks! We are very near to completing our new album! It is currently with Jacob Hansen in Denmark for mixing and mastering and we can't wait for you all to hear it and to get out there later in the year and play the songs live. It's an exciting time for us all and we hope you are all as happy with the results as we are!!

"After an excellent response to our initial Rock Band Network release 'Army of the Damned' Gamers who have enjoyed playing along can look forward to 2 tracks from the new album being available to play from around September. Track details to follow!

"To give you a taste of both the new album and the Rock Band game here's a couple of clips of new song 'Just a Lie' and 'Army' for Rock Band. See you soon!"